Ty Cobb (attorney)
{{Short description|American attorney (born 1950)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{for|the baseball player|Ty Cobb}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Ty Cobb
|image = Ty Cobb 2019.jpg
|caption = Cobb at the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2019
|birth_date = {{birth year and age|1950}}
|birth_place = Great Bend, Kansas, U.S.
|death_date =
|death_place =
|party = Independent{{cite web |title=Ty Cobb from The New Washington |url=http://podbay.fm/show/1265492288/e/1509227614?autostart=1 |website=podbay}}
|education = Harvard University (AB)
Georgetown University (JD)
}}
Ty Cobb (born 1950) is an American lawyer. He was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland in 1981–86. He has been a partner at Hogan Lovells in Washington, D.C. From July 2017 until May 2018, he was a member of the Trump administration legal team, though he has never voted for Trump.Vogt, Kara. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2024/02/27/will-anti-trump-republicans-vote-for-biden/ “They renounced Trump. Will they get fellow conservatives to vote Biden?”], Washington Post (27 Feb 2024): “Despite serving in Trump’s White House, Cobb says he never voted for him.”[https://earlyreturns.buzzsprout.com/1918542/10725044-ty-cobb-former-special-counsel-to-president-trump-insights-on-the-response-to-the-russia-collusion-investigation-past-and-present “Early Returns - Law and Politics with Jan Baran”] (June 2, 2022) (36:40).
Early life and education
Cobb was born and grew up in Great Bend, Kansas. He is the son of Grover C. Cobb, a radio station owner who was senior executive vice-president of the National Association of Broadcasters (which named one of their prestigious awards for him).{{cite news |author=Glose |first=Bill |author-link=Bill Glose |date=21 April 2015 |title=The Kansas Peach |work=Washington DC Super Lawyers magazine |publisher=Thomson Reuters |url=https://www.superlawyers.com/washington-dc/article/the-kansas-peach/9e159e1a-544e-4565-9c7e-88e9f3b7996b.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007194357/https://www.superlawyers.com/articles/washington-dc/the-kansas-peach/ |archive-date=7 October 2022}} Cobb's father was vice-president and general manager of KVGB (AM)/FM in Great Bend,{{cite web|url=http://www.kab.net/AboutKAB2/KABHistory2/d4272.aspx?type=view|title=Kansas Association of Broadcasters History|publisher=|access-date=August 17, 2017|archive-date=September 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907071139/http://www.kab.net/AboutKAB2/KABHistory2/d4272.aspx?type=view|url-status=dead}} and had a key role in forming the Kansas Association of Broadcasters.
Cobb reportedly is a distant relative of the Hall of Fame baseball player bearing the same name,{{cite web |first1=Karen|last1=Freifeld|first2=Steve|last2=Holland |title=Lawyer Ty Cobb to join White House to handle Russia probes |date=14 July 2017 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-lawyer-idUSKBN19Z2FA?il=0 |work=Reuters |quote=Cobb, who sports a handlebar mustache, is a distant relative of the famous early 20th century baseball player of the same name. }} but the specific genealogy is not known.
Cobb received his A.B. from Harvard University and his J.D. from Georgetown Law School.{{cite news|first=Susan |last=Schmidt|title=Huang's Lawyer Earns Top Marks for Maneuvering|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=12 July 1997|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/stories/cf071297.htm}} While at Harvard, Cobb became close friends with Senator Al Franken.{{cite web|title=Ty Cobb from The New Washington|url=http://podbay.fm/show/1265492288/e/1509227614?autostart=1|website=podbay}}
Career
Cobb served as a law clerk for a federal judge, then became Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland in 1981-86 based in Baltimore{{cite news|last1=Marbella|first1=Jean|title=Ty Cobb: The White House counsel launched his career in Baltimore |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-ty-cobb-counsel-20170809-story.html|access-date=25 March 2019|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|date=25 August 2017}} as chief of the criminal section and head of the region's drug enforcement and organized crime task force.{{cite news|last1=Diaz|first1=Daniella|title=Who is White House special counsel Ty Cobb?|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/15/politics/who-is-ty-cobb-white-house-special-counsel/index.html|access-date=25 July 2017|publisher=CNN|date=15 July 2017}} In 1986, he joined the Baltimore law firm Miles and Stockbridge. Two years later, he joined Hogan & Hartson, which became Hogan Lovells.
Cobb served as special trial counsel during an independent investigation of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the 1990s.{{cite news|last1=Polantz|first1=Katelyn|title=Trump Lawyer Cobb Describes Role, Says He Took Job With Rocks in My Head and Steel Balls|url=http://www.dailyreportonline.com/id=1202793742468/Trump-Lawyer-Cobb-Describes-Role-Says-He-Took-Job-With-Rocks-in-My-Head-and-Steel-Balls?slreturn=20170625055355|access-date=25 July 2017|agency=Law.com|newspaper=Daily Reports|date=24 July 2017}}
Cobb successfully defended Hudson Foods against allegations that its executives lied to investigators after a recall of beef tainted with E. coli. The executives were acquitted on all charges. He represented Democratic fundraiser John Huang against campaign finance charges. Huang pleaded guilty in 1999. Other high-profile clients have included Eli Segal, Mary McCarthy, AIG, Office Depot, the House of Saud, IBM, and Medtronic.{{cite web|title=Ty Cobb, Partner, Washington, D.C.|url=http://stc.hoganlovellsabc.com/team/11/ty-cobb|publisher=Hogan Lovells|access-date=15 July 2017|archive-date=September 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925075853/http://stc.hoganlovellsabc.com/team/11/ty-cobb|url-status=dead}}
Cobb is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
= Role in the Mueller special counsel investigation =
Cobb joined the White House to manage matters related to FBI Director Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, starting on July 31, 2017. Cobb was part of the White House internal legal team{{cite web|first=Justin|last=Fishel|title=White House to hire attorney Ty Cobb to manage Russia investigation response|date=14 July 2017|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-house-hire-attorney-ty-cobb-manage-russia/story?id=48643288|website=ABC News}}{{cite web|last1=Buncombe|first1=Andrew|title=Who is Ty Cobb? The top corruption lawyer just hired by Donald Trump|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/ty-cobb-trump-lawyer-who-is-he-career-jobs-clients-corruption-life-explained-a7846086.html|newspaper=The Independent|date=17 July 2017}}{{cite web|first1=Gloria|last1=Borger|authorlink1=Gloria Borger|first2=Dana|last2=Bash|authorlink2=Dana Bash|first3=Pamela|last3=Brown|authorlink3=Pamela Brown (journalist)|first4=Jeremy|last4=Diamond|authorlink4=Jeremy Diamond (journalist)|title=Trump reshuffling legal team|date=21 July 2017|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/20/politics/trump-corallo-resigns/index.html|publisher=CNN}} and reported directly to President Donald Trump. Cobb said that he accepted the White House assignment because "it was an impossible task with a deadline." He elaborated further that he had "rocks in his head and steel balls."{{cite news|last1=McGhee|first1=Tom|title=Trump's new Denver lawyer says he has "rocks in his head and steel balls"|url=http://www.denverpost.com/2017/07/24/trumps-denver-lawyer-ty-cobb/|access-date=25 July 2017|newspaper=The Denver Post|date=24 July 2017}} Cobb was recommended to Trump by John Dowd, who was a member of his private legal team.{{cite web|last1=Johnson|first1=Kevin|last2=Jackson|first2=David|title=Ty Cobb, Donald Trump's newest Russia lawyer, adds legal muscle as investigations widen|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/07/18/ty-cobb-donald-trumps-newest-russia-lawyer-adds-legal-muscle-investigations-widen/487811001/|newspaper=USA Today|date=July 18, 2017|access-date=July 25, 2017}}
Cobb said there was no reason to believe that Trump was personally under investigation and that "They're in full cooperation mode and they've been directed to fully cooperate and get this over with as quickly as possible."
On May 2, 2018, Cobb announced that he was retiring as White House special counsel at the end of the month.{{Cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/05/02/presidents-white-house-lawyer-ty-cobb-leave-donald-trump-legal-team/573392002/ |title=Ty Cobb's departure from Donald Trump's legal team means almost complete turnover |last=Jackson |first=David |date=May 2, 2018 |newspaper=USA Today|access-date=May 2, 2018 |language=en}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/02/us/politics/emmet-flood-ty-cobb-white-house-lawyer-special-counsel.html |title=Trump to Add Clinton Impeachment Lawyer Emmet Flood to Replace Ty Cobb |last1=Apuzzo |first1=Matt |date=May 2, 2018 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=May 2, 2018 |last2=Schmidt |first2=Michael S. |authorlink2=Michael S. Schmidt |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} He issued a statement that "it has been an honor to serve the country in this capacity at the White House. I wish everybody well moving forward."
Cobb stated on October 22, 2018, that he did not think the Mueller investigation was a "witch hunt", as Trump repeatedly called it in the press.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/22/politics/ty-cobb-cnn-citizen/index.html|title=Former White House lawyer: Mueller probe isn't a witch hunt|first=Dan |last=Merica|date=October 22, 2018 |website=CNN|access-date=October 23, 2018}} He repeated that assessment in an ABC News interview on March 5, 2019, adding that he thought that Mueller was "an American hero".{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/former-white-house-lawyer-ty-cobb-calls-mueller-american-hero-n979331|title=Former Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb calls Mueller 'American hero'|last=Smith|first=Allan|date=March 5, 2019|work=NBC News|access-date=5 March 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-white-house-lawyer-calls-mueller-american-hero/story?id=61455661 |title=Former Trump White House lawyer calls Mueller 'American hero,' says probe is no witch hunt |first1=Kyra|last1=Phillips |first2=Katherine|last2=Faulders |first3=Matthew|last3=Mosk |first4=John|last4=Santucci |date=March 5, 2019 |publisher=ABC News |access-date=5 March 2019}}
In December 2020, Cobb told Peter Nicholas of The Atlantic, "I believed then and now I worked for the country. I didn't really have any difficulty with that. People's reactions were frequently hostile when they found out what I was doing. How hypocritical is it to think that the Democrats deserve the best people and Republicans don't? I have served both. It's the same country."{{cite magazine|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/12/trumps-ex-staffers-have-no-regretseven-ones-he-fired/617418/|title=Was It Worth It?|date=December 18, 2020|magazine=The Atlantic|first=Peter|last=Nicholas}}
==Later criticism of Trump==
Since leaving the White House, however, Cobb has criticized Trump, calling him "a disaster for the Republican Party"{{cite web|first=Peter|last=Nicholas|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/former-white-house-attorney-ty-cobb-big-lie-good-only-trump-rcna38318|title=Former White House attorney Ty Cobb: 'Big Lie has been good only for Trump'|website=NBC News|date=July 14, 2022|accessdate=November 6, 2023}} and accusing him of "stifling truth."{{cite news|first1=Isaac|last1=Arnsdorf|first2=Josh|last2=Dawsey|first3=Devlin|last3=Barrett|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/05/trump-revenge-second-term/|title=Trump and allies plot revenge, Justice Department control in a second term|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 5, 2023|accessdate=November 6, 2023}}
Cobb has also condemned Trump's repeated false claims that his loss in the 2020 presidential election was the result of voter fraud, as well as his attempts to overturn the election and his alleged involvement in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.{{cite web|first=Nick|last=Mordowanec|url=https://www.newsweek.com/ex-trump-white-house-lawyer-predicts-bad-news-former-president-1801552|title=Ex-Trump White House Lawyer Predicts Bad News for Former President|work=Newsweek|date=May 19, 2023|accessdate=November 6, 2023}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.washingtonian.com/2011/12/08/a-tale-of-two-law-firms/ "A Tale of Two Law Firms"], Washingtonian, 2011
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20170215054537/http://whoswholegal.com/profiles/40616/0/cobb/ty-cobb/ Who's Who Legal], Law Business Research Ltd, London
- [http://criminal.laws.com/criminal-news/trial-lawyer-ty-cobb-reflects-on-35-years-of-practice-36532.html "Trial Lawyer Ty Cobb Reflects on 35 Years of Practice"], Laws.com
- {{C-SPAN|49991}}
{{Trump Executive Office}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cobb, Ty}}
Category:20th-century American lawyers
Category:Georgetown University Law Center alumni
Category:Harvard University alumni
Category:People from Great Bend, Kansas
Category:21st-century American lawyers
Category:First Trump administration personnel
Category:Lawyers from Washington, D.C.